GAME PREVIEW

(7:00 p.m. ET, TV: FSNY2 | Radio: Bloomberg 1130) Three wins in a row have given the Islanders a share of the Atlantic Division lead along with the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Tonight at 7 pm, the Islanders look to extend their winning streak as they take on the Southeast Division-leading Atlanta Thrashers at the Nassau Coliseum on Fireworks Night.

Thursday night was arguably the Islanders' most complete performance as they held the New Jersey Devils to just 16 shots and won by the score of 5-2. The last time the Islanders allowed fewer than 20 shots was March 14, 2006 in 6-1 win at New Jersey.

In last night's game, five Islanders scorers contributed to the win: Trent Hunter (2), Miroslav Satan (2), Alexei Zhitnik (1), Viktor Kozlov (4) and Jason Blake (8). Alexei Yashin increased his team-leading point total to 16 with a three-assist night. Rick DiPietro stopped 14 shots to raise his record to 4-4-0.

This is the first of four meeting with Atlanta, which comes into tonight's game with the second most potent offense in the NHL with 53 goals. They are led by Marian Hossa (19 points) and Ilya Kovalchuk (18). Slava Kozlov has also been productive, leading the team with 11 assists. In goal for Atlanta is the 22-year-old Finnish netminder Kari Lehtonen, who has gotten off to a strong start posting an 8-3-3 record along with a 2.72 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

Last night, the Thrashers came from behind to knock of Washington 4-3. Steve Rucchin's third-period goal less than a minute into the frame put the Atlanta up 4-3 and backup goaltender Johan Hedberg did the rest, stopping 24 of 27 shots for his first win of the year.

Last season the Islanders went 3-1-0 against Atlanta, including two wins at the Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders hold the advantage in the all-time series with a record of 14-8-2-0.

Chris King and Steve Mears have the call on Bloomberg Radio 1130 while Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe can be seen tonight on FSNY 2 Network.

POINTS IN 8 OF 9After a rocky 0-3-0 start out west, the Islanders have rebounded and are now tied for the Atlantic Division lead with 14 points. The team has earned points in eight of the last nine games with a record of 6-1-2.

SILLINGER THE FACEOFF SPECIALISTMike Sillinger has been a faceoff specialist for his entire NHL career and now currently leads the league with a 61.1 faceoff wining percentage. The 16-year veteran has ranked in the top-15 among NHL faceoff leaders in each of the past five seasons. Sillinger has also played for an NHL record twelve franchises.

AT THE COLISEUMThe Islanders wrapped up their 20-day, seven-game homestand this past week with a 4-1-2 record. It was the longest period the Islanders remain home this season. The team has another seven-game homestand in February/March, but for a shorter period of time. With two additional home games sandwiched in between this past Thursday's game in New Jersey and next week's game at Philadelphia, the Islanders do not fly again until mid-November when they start a seven-day trip to Dallas, Tampa Bay, Florida and Toronto.